Multiple Houston ISD schools are partnering with NASA to allow students the opportunity to produce equipment and apparatus for the space agency.

The HUNCH program, or High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware, is in its tenth year and has expanded to 13 states. In the program, based out of the Johnson Space Center, students to use their skills in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics to build various devices.

In this and recent years, teams from Madison, Sterling, Washington and Barbara Jordan high schools have worked on various projects, including testing the strength of straps used to secure storage items, prototypes for cameras to be used in space, organizers to be used on the International Space Station and other items to be used in training exercises.

“It’s an honor for the students to work for an organization like NASA because it challenges their ability in solving real world problems,” said Jordan engineering teacher Wilfred Stewart. “It involves students designing and fabricating real-world products for NASA as they apply their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills as well as learning to work in teams and think creatively.”

Stewart said an experience like this for his students – 16 in his junior-level engineering class – is one-of-a-kind.

The video below shows off some of the work on Jordan High School’s project this year of building a prototype of a shower to be used aboard the ISS.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/64562259 width=”600px” height=”330px”]